''Ödipussi'' is a 1988

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

comedy film, written and directed by and also starring

Loriot Bernhard-Viktor Christoph-Carl von Bülow (12 November 1923 – 22 August 2011), known as Vicco von Bülow or Loriot (), was a German comedian, humorist, cartoonist, film director, actor and writer. He was best known for his cartoons, the s ...

. It was the first of two feature films he directed, the other one being ''

Pappa Ante Portas ''Pappa Ante Portas'' is a 1991 German comedy film directed by Loriot, who also played the leading role and wrote the script, and Renate Westphal-Lorenz. This was Loriot's second and final feature film, after 1988's Ödipussi. Synopsis Heinric ...

.'' The title is a

pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...

on the

Oedipus complex The Oedipus complex (also spelled Œdipus complex) is an idea in psychoanalytic theory. The complex is an ostensibly universal phase in the life of a young boy in which, to try to immediately satisfy basic desires, he unconsciously wishes to have ...

described by

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies explained as originatin ...

and the nickname "''Pussi''", the way the main protagonist is called by his mother throughout the film. Rumors that the title might also be a reference to the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

film ''

Octopussy ''Octopussy'' is a 1983 spy film and the thirteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. It is the sixth to star Roger Moore as the MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by John Glen and the screenplay was written by G ...

'' have been denied by Loriot.

Synopsis

Paul Winkelmann runs the family's furniture and decoration business. Despite his age (he is 56 years old), he is still single and maintains a close relationship with his mother, who cooks for him and cannot understand that he now has his own apartment. When he meets Margarethe Tietze, a practicing psychologist, the two attempt to join their expertise in order to improve on consulting potential furniture customers with psychological troubles. After an afternoon of coffee and pastries and a business trip to Italy, Margarethe finally introduces Paul to her parents, who initially assume he is a patient of hers. In the meantime, Paul's jealous mother found a sublessee - very much to the dislike of Paul. Margarethe's family's return visit at Paul's mother's apartment ends with a debacle, but Paul and Margarethe nevertheless start a relationship.

Premières in East and West Germany

The première of the movie was on March 10, 1988 at 16:00 in

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...

and in the evening in the

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

. It was the first and only première in the divided Germany to happen in both parts of the country on the same day. In the Federal Republic the film was seen by 4,612,801 viewers.

References

External links

* 1988 films 1988 comedy films German comedy films West German films 1980s German-language films Films set in West Germany Films set in Italy Films produced by Horst Wendlandt 1980s German films {{1980s-Germany-film-stub